Amino Acid For neurological symptoms

[Ozeph]

May 31st 2019

My current supplementation.

Considering 2-3 weeks ago I had a streak of 5 weeks with sleep rated 8-9/10 and considering during that period it seemed taking or not the supplement had no bad effects, I decided to completely change my supplementation (and as usual see what happens.)

2-3 weeks ago, I had a motorbike accident, had road rashes and decided to take 10 gr of collagen peptides a day along with strong antibiotics to speed up the healing (which it did). Sleeps degraded to the point it started to affect my days and I was becoming all zombie like during the day (a situation I’ve experienced in the past and does not wish to repeat.). I believe what I have is excessive Glutamate (or Glycine or other stress composites in the brain) that keeps me awake at night.

It always points out to the lack of GABA, its inability to counteract stress hormones and neurotransmitters.
So I’m going to change my supplementation in order to lower Glutamate and increase GABA.
That’s what I did yesterday and I was happy all day long ! I listened to music instead of watching depressing youtube videos. I don’t know if it’s placebo or what, but I got back my joy of living, if only for a day.

So here it is:

Morning on empty stomach:

Arginine 500mg and Ornithine 500 mg
Horny Goat Weed
Vit B3 and B6, Biotin

During Lunch: Betaine HCL 500 mg in sparkling mineral water (I cut the Choline for it’s excitatory effect)

After Lunch:
Zinc 20mg
Boron 3 mcg
Iodine 500 mcg
Lithium Carbonate 150 mcg
D3 1000 Iu
Vit C 250 mg
Multivitamin
Horny Goat Weed

At Dinner:
Same Magnesium mix as before with sparkling water.

Before sleep, I increased the evil benzo by 1/8th, and the antihistamine by 1/4 (I’ll make it as temporary as I can). Sleep is steadily improving so I should be able the first cut the benzo to what it was before and then the antihistamine.

This all happens when I was planning to tapper off the benzo during the next 8 months (that how long my doctor told me it was going to take…)

And just to tempt the devil, I had carbs this morning. I want to eat carbs once in a while, like 50gr in a day, just to get my body more versatile in its energy usage. I have a theory the occasional carbs could help recovery. In the recovery section, there are stories of people recovering from stopping supplementation and eating carbs again. So as this is nothing as harsh as hormone replacement therapy, it’s pretty safe to try. Let’s see what happens (every time I say that, basically nothing bad happens)

Hey ho ! That’s how it Goes.

Keep you posted.

Update. I just got some over the counter Lithium, at 5 cents a pill, it’s a deal. Apparently, if I take it I’ll just sit on a chair apathetically, stare at a wall and drool while I get fat. Oh boy I can’t wait to start it !

But more seriously, what Lithium does is it increases both Serotonin and GABA while decreasing both Dopamine and Glutamate. I don’t intent to take it for more than a month or two. I will start with an insignificant dose, increase it to 25-50% the normal dosage keep it there a week or two and then tapper off for 4 weeks. I’ll take it in combination with Boron 300 mcg, Magnesium 450 mg and Iodine.

It goes without saying it’s dangerous to take with 5-HTP and I may need to take Dopamine again if I feel demotivated. For a start, I stopped all amino acids (except Arginine and Ornithine which may help lower Glutamate) and I’m only taking some vitamins and specifics minerals.

At least I found some leverage on the GABA and pituitary gland regulation.

[Mercked]

There’s a user on reddit who took 120 mg Lithium orotate for a week and developed bad insomnia that hasn’t resolved for at least half a year.

I am curious about taking GABA + l-arginine or l-citrulline to increase BBB penetration by something like 4x. However I read that supplementing nitric oxide could lead to developing carcinogenic nitrosamines and that a way to prevent that conversion is to take vitamin C or E with it, but how much I don’t know.

https://sci-hub.tw/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11849830

[Ozeph]

Thanks for the warning, I appreciate. I’ll keep my eyes open and look carefully at how I feel, How I sleep and what happens.

120 mg of Lithium Orotate contains 4.6mg of elemental Lithium

I took 150mg of Lithium Carbonate, which is the equivalent of 28mg of elemental Lithium.
I will have to completely review my dosage.

IMO it’s better to not take GABA but to induce the body into producing it itself. Especially if you have to force open the brain barrier in order to do so. What else may pass through ?

I got interested in Lithium because it both decreases Glutamate and increases GABA which is specifically what I try to do. But people with pfs react in a complete different way to substances than normal people. So it’s a gamble.

[Sawproblemo]

You’re symptom profile is very close to mine. I might have to try this carnivore diet. Never consciously thought about the penis tip numbness but I think I have that too.

I was doing quite well recently, felt more motivated in the morning, weak but present morning erections, rock hard induced erections and some libido. Now I feel the heavy chemical depression and dead dick again. Need to get back on the horse and keep pushing.

Squats have done wonders. Today is leg day, uhoh…

[Ozeph]

If fixes many symptoms and it’s not as bad as it sound. Yesterday I had Pork chops marinated in garlic, lemon juice, salt and oil. I fried them in lots ghee and covered it with tzatziki sauce (Greek cucumber and garlic sour cream sauce with lemon juice and salt.). I had spinach (with the extra ghee from the pan) also with that tzatziki sauce and it was fabulous.

Ketogenic, delicious, I don’t feel deprived at all. I can eat all I want. No restriction on quantity. But with all that protein and fat, you feel full and satisfied with a lot less than with carbs.

[Chapman]

Off topic but tzatziki is delicious, just had it most days while in cyprus.

[Ozeph]

Day 189 of amino acid experiment and Day 321 of Carnivore / Ketogenic diet.

I’m still taking the new list of supplements I posted on May 31st except I changed Lithium to make it 1 mcg of elemental Lithium instead of 28 mcg. Also It’s Lithium Carbonate instead of Lithium Orotate, which is a salt, so it ionizes to a lesser extend than Lithium Orotate (meaning it gets less assimilated).

I made my own capsules and also put 5 mg of DHEA and 10 mg of Pregnenolone in the mix. I made it so I can double the dose and Pregnenolone would still be low.

It’s just a safety measure. I want to increase Lithium, but as a mineral supplement. Not as a therapeutic dose. By itself, it probably won’t do much, but with some Boron, Iodine and Magnesium maybe I will manage to slowly increase sleep quality. I stopped Taurine. Sometimes I really feel weird after taking it, like on drugs or something. It’s unpleasant so off it goes !

I’m having nights around 6 or 6.5/10. It feels like 5 months ago and I blame the collagen peptide for it. Too much Glycine and Glutamine and I ended up with a Glutamate imbalance and too little GABA. Always GABA.

But I get enough sleep to have productive days and even though I don’t take L-Dopa, I feel very motivated. I can’t complain.

On the contrary, I feel lucky and I try to appreciate every moment.

[Ozeph]

@shellnyce : Did you have any success with the Oxaloacetate ?

[Shellnyce]

@Ozeph as it turns out… Oxaloacetate made me feel really weird. I think that my theory about to much Glutamate is a bust. I believe that taking the Oxaloacetate actually lowered both Glutamate and GABA. I had a horrible feeling of low GABA. It also made drinking coffee feel almost toxic. I was like totally wired or something. I think that our issue is probably not an excess of Glutamate after all but something to do with the mechanism that converts Glutamate to GABA (the enzyme GAD) or something with how electrical signals are managed in neurons. I’m still researching the latter of the 2. I will tell you that 2 nights ago I tried 100mg of Gabapentin which does not agonize GABA receptors but does stimulate GAD to produce GABA from Glutamate. It also modulates and inhibits Glutamate. I fell asleep on the couch sitting up. Like someone flipped a light switch on my brain. I woke up about 6 hours later sitting up perfectly on the couch. It was really weird. I had a few beers earlier in the evening and I think it was “strong” mix to say the least. I will try Gabapentin again this evening to see if I can get a much more controlled transition to sleep. It would be a good tool to use a couple times a week to keep the Benzo / Ambien use to a minimum. I only too 100mg of Gabapentin which is the lowest dose.

[Ozeph]

Interesting results. A bit dangerous, be careful man.

Gabapentin. I wonder If I could find that. Gaba in the main neurotransmitter in the hypothalamus, and that’s where most of the body’s hormones, enzymes, neurotransmitters etc… are regulated.

You’ve got insomnia, worst than me, and something that stimulate GAD knocked you out.

Allopregnanolone is what usually regulates GABA, so presumably triggers or not the production of GAD. Although I’m speculating, I haven’t done research specific to GAD and Allopregnanolone. I just know that 5ari messed up the production of Allopregnanolone as it takes both 5ar and 3a-HSD to transform progesterone into Allopregnanolone. No Allo, no GAD, No GABA.

I also know that I messed myself up with collagen peptide, which is 30% Glycine, which converts in Allylglycine, a potent GAD inhibitor. So one mystery solved, that’s why Collagen is not good for us.

I’ll look Gabapentin up… Looks like I can buy generic copies of it from Canada (my country) and they would gladly smuggle it for me in Thailand. I think Canadian pharmaceutical companies are just as unethical as US ones. Suits me…Lol.

I’ll do my research before taking it. Presumably, if taken carefully (not too often, cycling it etc…), it could reboot GAD production. I will also look what is the elimination process of Allylglycine and see if I can boost that up.

[Shellnyce]

I was talking to a doctor who I’m seeing (a psych just to help if I need it) and she specializes in sleep issues. Many of her patients when she practiced in a hospital were schizophrenic and experienced serious sleep issues as bad or if not worse than we do. She said that there is a theory that the body can create antibodies for GAD essentially attacking the enzyme that creates GABA. Testing with Gabapentin is a reasonable course of action. I agree… cycle it. As for my sleep… I went to sleep (while not great) last night on .5mg of Klonopin so I dont think my sleep situation is worse than yours going by what you take nightly.

I know we keep discussing Allopregnanolone but I dont think that is our issue. I think if it were, you and I would have serious depression. I think our Allo is probably OK but our issue lies downstream. I’ll let you know how my second trial of Gabapentin goes. Aslo… there is another more bio-available version of Gabapentin called Pregbalin which I think stays in your system longer. Gabapentin is cleared from your system in 6 hours. I’m guessing you would get longer sleep in Pregbalin.

[Ozeph]

Pregabalin has a lower tolerance than Gabapentin. I’ve read it has no withdrawal symptoms but other sources says it does, although less than Benzos. It is also used to treat benzodiazepine dependent insomniac like me.

It has a similar action to Gabapentin but seems superior in many ways. Also, it’s sold over the counter and very cheap in Thailand. I’ll give it a try.

[Shellnyce]

I’ll be very interested to hear your experiences with Pregabalin. I tried Gabapentin last night and it did help me fall asleep but I had weird heart pounding. I have found that some meds cause me heart rythim issues. I wonder if Pregabalin would work better. I suspect that Gabapentin lowers blood pressure. I’m also in the middle of a 3 day water fast so that might have been an issue.

Go easy on the Pregabalin because I do know they potentiate anything else your taking… ie Klonopin. So its going to make the Klonopin seem more powerful.

[Ozeph]

Look what I found: Blunted's Story

By the way it’s dangerous with alcohol.

I will use Gabapentin to tapper off Klonopin in 5 days without withdrawal symptoms. I spent the whole days studying clinical data and protocole.

Then I will have to be on Gabapentin from then on, maybe using Pregabalin for the daytime and Gabapentin for bedtime. Apparently it makes you more sleepy.
But I’ll probably switch them around to see what’s best. They’re almost the same except 300 mg Gabapentin =75 mg Pregabalin.

It’s not ideal but it way better than Klonopin, which I took for a year already while it’s not meant for more than 3-4 weeks.

At least Gabapentin can be used for many years and withdrawn within 1-3 weeks.
Without meds, my doctor told me to tapper off Klonopin for 8 months…

I’ll tell you the result. I start the detox on Friday night.

[Shellnyce]

@Ozeph I would be careful with your plan. I know you do tons of research but as I understand it, Klonopin has some type of “half life” if you want to call it that…where it stays in your fat cells. I have heard that it takes more than 5 days for 1 dose of Klonopin to clear from your fat cells and exit your system… The withdrawal takes a long time. I wish you the best of luck but please be careful.

How long does clonazepam 1 mg stay in your urine?

This means that it will take between one to two days for just 50% of Klonopin to leave your system. Based on the estimate of clonazepam’s 30 to 40-hour half-life, Klonopin is likely to stay in your system for approximately six to nine days after you’re your final dose.

[Ozeph]

Half life is 60 hours, it does stay in the fat, it does take 5 days to clear half of it and 9 to clear it all.

But that doesn’t matter. Gabapentin, 300 mg every 8 hours, keep the GABA receptors full of GABA and there’s no withdrawal symptoms from Benzodiazepine (alcohol, barbiturates and all hypnotic drugs)

I’ll have to take Gabapentin, 300 mg every 8 hours for at least 2 weeks. After that, if I don’t have anxiety, I can take it only at night for sleeping.

Maximum dosage 4800 mg per day, no precedents of overdose on it alone although combined with other drugs it’s another story.

I should do this in a hospital but what’s the point. Plus I can always take 0.25mg of Klonopin if the cravings are too strong.

What choice do I have ? Gabapentin (especially Pregabalin) have less side effects, are less addictive, less withdrawal symptoms if any and can be taken for years.

And if I can’t do it, I still have a bottle full of benzo to draw back to… That’d be too bad though.

[MOONCHILD]

@Ozeph

ithdrawal symptoms if any and can be taken for years.

I still thinking that the solution is to inject our fucking brain with neural stem cell to replace whatever fin screw.

[Ozeph]

What if it didn’t screw cells but only neurotransmitters, neurosteroids, hormones and enzymes ?

[MOONCHILD]

@Ozeph

What if it didn’t screw cells but only neurotransmitters, neurosteroids, hormones and enzymes ?

and what do you think that produce neurotransmitters, neurosteroids, hormones and enzymes ? if no cell.

[vkg1]

I don’t want to take thread OT, but I’ve sometimes wondered if my PAS is actually just long term after effects of having taken clonazepam daily for 4 years.

My doctor had me on it in retrospect to cover his ass while he had me on Welbutrin (Welbutrin has a reputation for sometimes causing seizures). Took it twice a day for 4 years and my PAS symptoms did become most acute right around the time I finally discontinued it.